Copper Blue - Sugar (1992)

Ideated from: a favorite album that starts with ‘C’.

Bob Mould was part of Husker Du (o_O), an early-80s hardcore band that progressed into a punk/pop hybrid and paved the way for everything from The Pixies to Green Day. He’s kind of a minor figure in rock stardom, but his songwriting and guitar skills put a real stamp on what guitar rock sounded like in the 90s. This is the first album by his band Sugar (don’t kid yourself: there are two other guys sharing the bill, but this is Mould’s project every bit as much as his solo albums). This one became an instant favorite the moment I heard it, and it’s not just “a favorite record that starts with ‘C’” but more like “a favorite record” or maybe even, possibly, “the favorite record”. I’ll try to restrain my fanboyness.

The guitars are what really make Sugar stand out from its peers. Mould is a great guitar player, and even when he’s just playing an unaccompanied electric guitar as he does live sometimes, he has a great fuzzy distortion sound that people used to call the “swarm of bees.” As he became a more experienced producer he did a lot of interesting things with his guitars in the studio. It’s pretty common to “double” a vocal, recording it twice and superimposing them to make it sound stronger. Mould does that with his voice, but often harmonizes with himself. And then he’ll do the same with that massive guitar sound, layering three or four (or more) distinct guitar lines on top of each other, all in that snarling distorted sound that blends them together. If there’s a criticism of his methodology, it’s that he doesn’t leave much room for anything else The bass and drums get drowned out, and even the vocal is often buried under that swarm of bees. But it’s amazing in the level of detail it brings and the cumulative effect of that sonic firehose that–as intense as it is–still manages to sound like you need to turn it up. This record (and seeing the force of nature that Sugar was in concert multiple times) is likely part of the reason I have so much hearing loss in my middle age, but I won’t say it wasn’t worth it.

Tracks I Liked

The Act We Act - great opener with a great riff

Hoover Dam - a sort of travelogue with some interesting use of backwards tracks

The Slim - a terrifying meditation on dealing with loss

Man On The Moon - Honestly, one of my very favorite songs of all time. I used to sing it to my kids at bedtime, though i had to avoid mouth-guitaring the solos and stay away from the massive, second-side-of-Abbey-Road-ready bridge.